Fated Betrayal(The Twisted Destiny Saga Book 2)(8)

By: Franca Storm

Ryan didn’t know what to say. He just stood there staring at her in disbelief. A gut-wrenching pain ripped through him knowing that he had caused her to react that way to him, that he had hurt her. Intentionally or not, it had happened. He felt sick with it. And for the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to do.

David stepped between them and told him, “I will take her to her chambers. You should give her some time.”

Ryan didn’t respond. He just stood there, dumbfounded, as he watched another man lead his wife away from him. His wife who was now terrified of him.

CHAPTER 3

Cora sat on a white loveseat beneath two stained glass windows depicting unicorns running freely through what looked like the royal gardens she’d just visited. David had pulled a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her. She clutched it to her protectively and sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, glancing around at the unfamiliar surroundings of the bedchambers that her father’s servants had prepared for her and Ryan. A gorgeous, four-poster bed carved out of white stone was the central feature of the room. Crimson, silk sheets and dozens of pillows and decorative deep-red and pearl-white cushions made it look so welcoming and warm. Silver drapes hung down from the bed frame and brushed the floor. Bowls of what looked like potpourri sat atop the bedside tables. A wall of white closets lined the opposite wall. And just beyond that was another door, which she assumed led to a bathroom. The walls were like the rest of the room—bright and beautiful—white with silver adornments. The room was gorgeous. She’d never been in the presence of such luxury before. Well, she knew she had when she’d lived in the White Realm palace for the first hundred years of her life. But those were years that she didn’t remember, because of her father’s spell.

“Here,” David said suddenly, cutting through her thoughts.

She looked up to see him holding out a mug for her. “What is it?” she asked hesitantly.

“Herbal tea. It will help you to regain your strength quicker than normal after you heal.”

She smiled and took it from him. She sipped at it and was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. “Mmm…like strawberries.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. Everything here tastes good. Wait until you try some of the food.”

“How did you know…about the waterfall…what was happening there?” she asked.

He sat down beside her and said, “Your father sensed your distress.”

“What?”

“You are both connected, especially when you are within the White Realm. You will learn to sense him, too, once he teaches you how. He felt your agony and saw the…situation. He sent me, rather than going himself because of the…nature…of the situation. I’m sure you can understand why he did not go to you himself.”

“Oh my God.” She blushed at the knowledge that her father had actually seen her and Ryan fucking like wild animals in a vision. “He saw…everything?”

“Enough,” David responded with a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

“Well…thank you for helping me,” she said. “Ryan…he’s never been like that before.”

“He’s a wolf, what do you expect?” David said brashly.

Cora’s eyes narrowed. “He is my husband.”

“He is a creature of darkness, Cora. Dangerous.”

Cora shook her head. “No. It was the magic. The water was enchanted. I felt it.”

“The water brings out our deepest desires. That is all. It cannot manufacture darkness. It would only enhance what is really within us, what we really want.”

“You’re saying Ryan wanted to do that to me?”

“Deep down, yes.”

She hastily moved away and got to her feet. “No. Stop it.”

David rose to his feet as well. “I am just speaking the truth, princess.”

“The truth? I watched you die, David! From a vampire attack—five years ago! And you dare to talk of truth to me?”

* * * * *

David had been waiting for her reaction to seeing him alive and well within the White Realm. He had been surprised that she had taken so long to offer any response. She was very much like her father in that respect. She could hold in her feelings, no matter how intense, until she deemed it appropriate to let them loose. She had obviously understood how inappropriate it would have been for her to do so as he’d walked her through the palace halls to her chambers earlier with people around them.